For the past month, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Simone. She flew in from the Netherlands and came to explore Canada on October 15, 2009. I’ve gotten the chance to hang out and party with Simone while living at the INTERNeX staff house, and she is so full of character! It’s evident in her laugh that she’s been having a blast in Vancouver, and she recently got to show her family around town too while they came for a visit!

Why did you decide to come to Canada?Well, it was really hard to get a visa for the United States. Vancouver was the next closest thing and the Olympics were going to be held there so that’s what helped me make my decision.

How did you find out about INTERNeX?I found out about INTERNeX through a dutch organization called Travel Active.

What program are you currently participating in?I am in the Hospitality program doing a city placement at Blenz.

What do you enjoy about your job?I love working with other international people, some of which are my roommates and housemates.

What skills do you use at work?I have to multi-task and have great social skills.

What would you tell others about Canada as a country?It is beautiful – a lot like Europe. People are really nice here… almost too nice!

Can you sum up your experience in Canada?It is an awesome time to get to know life and more about myself.

What kind of activities have you done since living in Canada?I’ve seen a lot of nature, been to the Rockies, and visited lots of areas within Vancouver such as Granville Island, Metrotown and many different beaches!

What are your plans for the future?I plan to travel more all over the world, and maybe come back to Canada to work on a farm. Eventually though I would like to settle down back at home in the Netherlands.

So I started at INTERNeX back at the end of November 2009 and I was taken on as the PR/Communications Intern. I had been looking for several months for opportunities within the work force but within my field of study, which is Communications. I was in my fourth year up at Simon Fraser University and had had little experience besides from survival jobs such as being a server at Joey’s on Broadway, cashier at Urban Outfitters, and so on. After years of working within the service industry I was ready to take on a new challenge and I had always been interested in doing an internship. After months and months of research with little to show for it I came across INTERNeX. They were offering an opportunity that just seemed to be exactly what I was looking for! After several interviews I was accepted and started work at their office the following week.

The first time I stepped into the office I was super nervous and everybody seemed to be quite involved in their own work. Tempted to just sit in front of my computer and get down to it, I recognized how important it was for me to get to know my coworkers because we would be working together for close to 6 months. So I realized how important it was for me to take myself out of my comfort zone and show the INTERNeX staff that I was there to be a part of their team. The first week was quite overwhelming because I had to get acquainted with all of systems and procedures in place within their social media networking tools and the company in general. But as the weeks went by i began to feel more and more comfortable in the office setting and actually started to feel like a member of the INTERNeX family.

(me sitting in the office @ my desk)

Everyday at the office was something new… and this aspect of my placement was very exciting for me and i welcomed this new change. Throughout a significant portion of my placement i was attending school as well, so i had to juggle a heavy course load and three days a week at the office. I was unsure as to whether i would be able to handle everything on my plate, but i actually began to look forward to my days at the office because it broke up my same old boring school schedule that i was getting tired of. I was learning about all these new social networking tools, such as twitter, facebook, twaitter, wordpress, flickr, etc and part of my job was planning events and trips! Cannot get much better than that!

(me at PuB NiGHT with some of the candidates)

As my placement progressed i was given more responsibility and was able to take on bigger projects. My placement lasted for a total of 6 months and in such a short amount of time i was able to learn so much from each and everyone in the office. Tomorrow is my last day and i can honestly say that i will miss INTERNeX terribly! I cannot begin to express how lucky i feel to have been given the chance to become part of this company and meet such an amazing group of people from all over the world. Thank god i’ll still be able to drop by the office whenever i want and hopefully i can organize a great relationship between the cellar and INTERNeX so then i’ll never really have to say goodbye.

I just want to personally thank all of the members of the INTERNeX family; Patrick, Laura, Tim, Mina, Marien, Mayuko, Martina and of course Simon (the dungeon troll) and all the others who i never got the chance to meet, for making this an unforgettably life changing experience! So now its time to say ciao for now/L-boogie

For more information about all of the programs offered by INTERNeX please do not hesitate to contact us at the office:
INTERNeX International Exchange
Suite 200 – 211 Columbia Street
Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Phone: +1 (604) 662 8149
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

So last week when I was trying to figure out our next potential candidate for the “expose” post, I was wracking my brain trying to find someone that could truly give us a glimpse into the “INTERNeX experience”. Little did I know but I had this person right in the office with me sitting across the room. Can you guess who it is? It’s Shinya! This once shy Japanese boy came to Canada and managed to see more places and do more things in one year then I’ve done in the past nine years that I’ve lived here. So yeah since he did just about everything that was possible and participated in every one of our programs he is the perfect candidate!

What is your name? My name is Shinya but my “Canadian” name is Max

Where are you originally from?Kobe, Japan

Why did you choose Canada as the location of your placement?Well I’d been to Australia and New Zealand so Canada just seemed like the next stop for me

How did you find about INTERNeX International Exchange?I found about it through the Japanese Embassy

Which program(s) did you participate in throughout your stay in Canada?Well I actually participated in all three of the programs offered by INTERNeX

haha O.k. well let’s take this one program at a time then…What was the first program that you enrolled in?Initially I started off with the hospitality program because I thought that this would be the best opportunity to improve my English skills and truly immerse myself into the Canadian culture. I was placed in Lake Louise, Alberta and for the first month I was a Dishwasher then when the second month came around I continued to do Dishwashing but in addition to this I was both a server and a clerk in the resort gift shop. After a total of 3 1/2 months working at the resort I moved back to Vancouver and applied for the PR/Communications internship offered by INTERNeX at their Vancouver office. The reason why I chose to taken on this position was because I thought that this would be able to take my experience to the next level and be that final step towards breaking me out of my shell. I was an intern at the office for 5 months but due to the fact that the internship was unpaid I had to find another means of gaining an income so I could continue to stay in Canada. Thankfully INTERNeX was gracious enough to set me up with a coffee shop located just a few blocks away from the office in Gastown. It was at this location that I worked as a Barista for 4 months. Then during the 2009 Christmas Break I decided since I’d already done the other two programs why not do it all…so i enrolled in the Ranchstay program. For two weeks I was placed on a mixed farm in Montana where I had many “firsts”. For the first time in my life I rode horses, fed cows, herded buffalo and took care of numerous farm animals. This was definitely something that will stay with me forever. And last but not least, most of you know that Vancouver was the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics so before I returned home I thought what better way to end my trip then to try and get a job in the Olympics…so that’s what I did. I hired on as a member of the event service staff who were responsible for assisting media personnel and essentially acting as security by ensuring that everyone had the correct accreditation in order to gain entrance into the media tent. Throughout the few weeks that I worked there I met a considerable amount of athletes/celebrities. Some of the most memorable ones are Aiko Uemura, the Japanese Mogul Skier, Russian Figure Skating silver medalist, Evgeni Plushenko, Gold Figure Skating Couple, Tesse Virtue & Scott Moir, and last but not least BC Premier, Gordon Campbell

What was one of your most memorable moments of your entire stay?I would have to say it was throughout my entire hospitality placement. It was such an entirely new and scary experience for me. For the first time in my life I was living all by myself in a foreign country where I knew no one. At first it was really hard but the staff that I worked with soon enough became my family and all my previous fears were completely gone!

If you to choose one program that you would recommend, which one would it be and why?The internship program because it really helped me to grow on both a personal and professional level. Even though it is not a paid position the benefits that you reap are invaluable and it truly helped me to make lifelong connections with people from all over the world. Every day I was exposed to something new and I cannot even begin to explain how this has made me who I am today

What are some of the skills that you gained from your internship placement?Good customer service skills, communication skills both intra and inter personal, building trust and numerous web site building skills

What one place/event/festival would you encourage people to check out?Definitely Stanley Park. This amazing park, less than a mile from downtown Vancouver, is one of the city’s main tourist attractions and offers over 1,000 acres of an evergreen oasis. The park is full of wildlife and sometimes there is just nothing better then just to relax and take in the natural surroundings…it truly made me forget at times that i was still in the city

So what are you planning on doing once you return home to Kobe?First i am planning on going back to University and to continue on with my environmental studies and I am also working on maintaining my connection with INTERNeX by recruiting Japanese University Students for the Ranchstay program. So it’s not really over yet…

If you have any more questions or queries about our programs please do not hesitate to contact us at the office:

Hi everyone, my name is Vince Breuer and I am from the Netherlands and I got my internship thanks to Internex. I am working for five months at a touring company called West Trek. During my internship I have to do a special assignment for school, which is organizing a special event during Christmas. I would like to invite all of you to come and join us for this night.

Just sitting at home during Christmas Holiday because you didn’t make any plans? YOU DON’T HAVE TO!, because on Friday December 18th there is a special event organized for all you students so that you and your friends can have a nice dinner & party at Ceili’s. Dinner tickets are $25 and includes a nice classic Christmas dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, gravy and cranberry sauce. Next to that, your dinner ticket also includes a free Christmas hat and a big Christmas after party. Or you can just come to the party for $10. Party and dinner start’s at 7PM and the dress code is: Red and White. Get your tickets now before it’s too late at the West Trek office or at the Internex office.